9 Lives
by TheConjuringMind
Summary: Alternate Universe - NO POWERS. Claire Bennet suddenly develops the inability to feel pain, and after seeking medical help, discovers she has a rare variation of the condition CIP, and begins closing herself off from others, considering herself a freak. But when an old friend comes back into her life, she starts seeing her situation in a whole new light. ClairexZach
1. Running into Zach

**A/N I really liked Claire and Zach's friendship in the first season, and was extremely disappointed that he wasn't in season 2. Their relationship had so much potential it's crazy that they didn't end up together! D: **

**I came across some good one-shots of them on here, but not really any multiple chapter stories, so I figured I'd contribute some of my own ideas. I hope you enjoy them. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Heroes.**

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**"9 Lives"**

Claire held her messenger bag close, keeping to herself as she maneuvered through the school's halls. Normally she would be conversing with her fellow cheerleaders, chatting and gossiping. But after being diagnosed with "the condition", as they called it, she'd just completely shut herself off from all other people. She didn't really see the point in having relationships now, if she couldn't feel anything to begin with. _All_ humans felt _something. _She was practically a _monster._

No.

Even _worse._

She was a _freak. _

An outcast.

Although no one else in the school was aware of her condition, and _thank goodness _for that, she still felt inwardly distant from everyone else. She could hardly enjoy the feeling of touch in general, because her brain vaguely registered feeling.

Sure, it had some perks. Like those annoyingly painful moments when you accidentally stub your toe, or when you're taking a piping-hot tray out of the oven with no gloves on.

But even though she couldn't feel the pain, that didn't mean that the damage wasn't still there. She still acquired quite a few burn marks from various hot objects; like the oven, stove, clothing iron, etc.

Mr. Bennet, her father, had told her to be more careful with such things, but it was often hard to do when she couldn't feel the pain leading to the cause of the problem. She had to be constantly checking her hands and fingers for minor cuts and burns, and often times she would forget that the cookie tray was still piping hot, or that the heated electric stove was left on, and she would end up with yet another unknown burn mark.

Claire made a final turn through the halls, trying to locate her locker as a wave of students pushed past her, causing her to lose her grip on her bag, and ultimately have it fall to the floor, spilling all its contents. She sighed irritably, bending down to retrieve her items. She slowly tilted her head upwards to identify the culprit.

It was none other than Brody Mitchum; the football quarterback.

"Oops, sorry Claire, I didn't see you there." He said in mock concern, flashing his devilish smile.

"Oh, no, don't worry about me." She said sarcastically, rising up to his level, bag in hand.

"Do you need some help standing up, Princess?" He teased.

"I'll be fine on my own, thank you." She replied, turning on her heel.

And for a brief moment, her edgy walk-away might have been seen as cool.

Had it not been for her totally wiping out as she was accidentally shoved into a locker by an unsuspected teenage boy. Heavily embarrassed (and extremely annoyed) she fell to the ground. Even though she couldn't feel the pain of the impact, she still saw stars.

"OH MY GOD!" The teen boy shrieked in shock.

She could already hear Brody behind her, cackling over her defeat.

Claire shook her head, disoriented, and began picking up her items once again.

"I'm so sorry," The familiar boy apologized sincerely. "Here, let me help you," he immediately began picking up her pencils, books, and other school supplies, frantically stuffing them back into her bag.

"I wasn't looking where I was going, are you okay?" He asked, genuinely concerned. Claire froze in place when she recognized who had run into her.

_Zach_.

She hadn't spoken to him since 6th grade. They kind of drifted apart when she started hanging out with the popular kids. And because of her selfish fear of losing her popularity, she quit being around him altogether. So you can imagine how awkward it was for her to run into him. Or, in this case, have _him_ run into _her_.

"Um, Claire?" Zach questioned, slowly waving his hand in front of her to get her attention.

She quickly blinked herself out of her trance.

"Mm, yeah?"

"I said, 'are you okay?' "

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," She waved him off and stood up swiftly, rotating herself around to show him there wasn't any damage.

"See? Just fine."

Claire's brave face immediately depleted when she saw Zach's horrific facial expression. His jaw dropped and his eyes were as wide as saucers, staring down at something on her.

"YOU'RE BLEEDING!" He exclaimed, pointing at her.

Claire followed his gaze. She saw that her left leg was oozing a crimson color out of a deep-looking gash.

What was she supposed to do now? If she didn't cry out in pain he'd be sure to suspect _something_, but if she _did_, it would definitely draw attention, something she was not very fond of. Not wanting to be discovered, she did the only thing she _could_ do to save her dwindling reputation.

She yelled.

"Ow!" She knelt down to hold her leg, pretending to be in pain.

A few students turned their heads in her direction, curiosity evident on their faces. Now that she practically had the whole school's attention, there was no going back now.

"Claire?" A man's voice questioned from somewhere in the hall.

She looked in the direction the voice was coming from, and saw Mr. Bishop, her English teacher, sprinting towards her.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Mr. Bishop knelt down beside her and put his arm on her shoulder.

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**A/N Did you get what I did there? :D I just used Bob Bishop (Elle's father) for Claire's English teacher! Haha! XD  
**

**Okay, I have three possible scenarios on what could happen next, but I'm not sure which one to choose, so I'm hoping you can help me decide by dropping me a review with one of the following choices;**

**A) Claire tells Mr. Bishop it was Brody's fault, resulting in him getting a detention, Claire gets sent to the nurse's office, and Zach and her bond over their disliking towards Brody.**

**B) Mr. Bishop assumes Zach was the culprit despite Claire's protests, sending him to detention. And Claire goes to the nurse's office, later Claire apologizes to Zach after school for the misunderstanding.**

**C) Claire tells Mr. Bishop it was her own fault for running into Zach, and gets herself sent to the nurse's office. Zach follows her on her way home from school and they have a friendly chat.**

**Yeah, they pretty much all involve Claire getting sent to the nurse's office. But hey, you get the point, right? Please review and let me know which one you choose! **


	2. Nurse's Office

**A/N Sorry for the slow update, I am working on another story. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Heroes.**

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"Did someone hit you?" Mr. Bishop asked.

Claire shook her head.

"No, Mr. Bishop. I..." She struggled to find the right words. "I ran into a locker..." She sighed.

His eyes held her gaze intensely.

"Did someone _push_ you?" He asked, voice firm.

Her eyes shifted towards Zach, and he looked at her pleadingly. He probably thought that she'd tell and get him sent to the principal's office. The thought that he no longer trusted her anymore and was probably intimidated by her, made her feel sad.

She had half a mind to blame her incident on Brody Mitchum. He was basically the cause of all this chaos.

"It was an accident!" Zach blurted out.

Mr. Bishop turned his head to face him.

"I-" Claire looked at him sharply before cutting him off from his sentence. "Yes," she interjected loudly, causing Mr. Bishop to whip his head around in her direction.

"It was an accident. I'm such a clutz," She smiled falsely. "I'm always running into _something."_

Mr. Bishop looked at her with an expression of confusion, while Zach looked at her with one of shock.

"That's funny," He said.

"I'd think you'd be very coordinated, considering you're a cheerleader and all..." Claire's eyes grew wide before she was able to catch herself.

"Uh...yeah, you'd think it, wouldn't you?" She laughed nervously.

"It was a miracle I made the team," she finished. And she wasn't lying. At least, not entirely. anyway. She never would've made the team to begin with if it wasn't for Jackie Wilcox, her former friend, pulling a few strings.

But it wasn't because she was clumsy or uncoordinated - she was quite the opposite - it was because the fellow cheerleaders, for whatever reason, had no liking towards her whatsoever.

"They must really like you, Claire." Mr. Bishop smiled softly.

"You have no idea..." she muttered.

They all fell silent. Claire looked around the hall shyly.

Her staring audience had since departed after learning there was nothing exciting happening on another typically boring Monday morning.

"Well, Claire," Mr. Bishop spoke up, rising to his feet. "I can take you to the nurse's office, if you'd like." He pointed down the hall.

Claire stood up slowly, pretending to be in pain.

Zach, noticing her distress, held his hand out for her to take. She reluctantly took it.

She wondered how he could be so nice to her, despite the fact that she'd _never _been nice to him. Even when they were friends in 6th grade.

"No thanks, I can manage," she reassured.

"Are you sure? That's a pretty mean-looking gash. You should definitely get the nurse to look at it." He looked at her worriedly.

"I'll be _fine," _she waved him off.

_"_It's nothing that a few bandages can't fix," she replied confidently, even though she wasn't quite so sure herself.

He raised a brow while adjusting his slightly disheveled tie.

"Claire," he said sternly.

"I want you to go to the nurse's office, whether you think you need to or not."

She rolled her eyes.

"And you," He looked at Zach. "I want you to make sure she does." And with those words, he departed.

Zach looked at her sheepishly.

Claire was the first one to speak. "Thanks."

He looked at her quizzically. "Um...For what? Running into you?"

"No," She laughed, shaking her head. "For picking up my bag, and helping me up...and for apologizing even though it was _clearly_ my fault." She mumbled.

"Oh...well, you're welcome, then." He smiled, shrugging.

She nodded once, then turned on her heel-much more carefully this time-and started making her way to class.

She hadn't been walking for five seconds before she realized he was following her.

"You don't have to take me to the nurse's office," she said over her shoulder. "I can get there myself."

Zach didn't reply, but she figured he got the message when she no longer heard his footsteps behind her. But after a few minutes of navigating the near-dead hallways by herself, she actually wished he was still following her. Or that anyone was following her, for that matter. Being alone in the halls made her feel sick to her stomach.

Spotting the door that said; 'Nurse's Office' in bold black letters, she came to a halt.

She knew that as soon as she set foot in the room, everything would change. She contemplated running back to her locker and retrieving the enourmous stash of band aids she had hidden in a little pink box, but decided against it due to her lack of medical knowledge.

She would have no idea what to do with a gash as big as the one on her leg. Would she wrap it up in gauze? _Should _she wrap it up? Could the cut get infected if she didn't change the gauze out regularly? If she could feel the pain of it, would she be more alarmed than she was?

She laughed to herself at the thought of using pain-killers to suppress the discomfort she should've felt. Clearly, this was a job for the nurse.

Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself for whatever was ahead.

She slowly turned the knob and opened the door.

"Hold on a sec, I'll be right there!" Came a voice from somewhere in the room.

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**A/N Can you guess who the nurse is? :P**


	3. The Nurse

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own Heroes.  
**

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Claire looked around to see where the voice was coming from, but there was no one in the room. To her left, there were two white cupboards-presumably filled with needed medical supplies-a white counter top with scattered papers and envelopes, a small square-shaped trash bin, and a corded telephone.

To her right was a long white desk. On the desk was a pair of shiny silver tweezers, a clip-board with a thick amount of paper in it, and a small, framed picture of two men side-by-side, one arm over the others' shoulder, both smiling. In the middle of the room was a chair. Similar to that of a dentists chair, and beside it was a cushioned metal stool.

"You still there?" Came the voice again, causing Claire to jerk a bit in surprise. She looked around herself once more, and discovered that there was an open door on the far left side of the room, past the cupboards and counter tops. She must have missed it because of how far the said objects in the room protruded from the wall.

"Yeah," Claire called back to the person, leaning to her right side to peer into the open door.

"I'm still here."

"Good," Came her reply.

Claire absently wandered over to the desk on the right side of the room while she was waiting, and picked up the picture of the two men. She tilted her head sideways and glanced at it. Even though the two men had different hair colors, she could tell they were brothers, or at least close friends.

The taller one (and presumably the older one), had shiny brown hair, combed over to one side. The younger one had longer black hair, parted at one side, but not combed. Instead, his locks hung off of his forehead and fell slightly into his face, causing him to look much younger than the other man. Even though each of their arms were over each others' shoulders, both of their muscles looked relaxed and calm, as if putting their arm around the other was just common nature. And they both wore easy smiles.

Claire smiled to herself. One day she'd like to be that close to someone.

"Yeah, that's my brother," startled, Claire whipped herself around to see who had spoken to her. A young male-nurse, the same man from the picture, smiled back at her. Her cheeks flushed and she set the frame back on the desk.

"I'm sorry, I'm not usually this nosy," She apologized, embarrassed.

"Oh, no," he protested. "It's no big deal. I set it out to look at while I"m working. It calms me down a bit."

"He seems like a nice guy," she gestured towards the picture.

"He is," he folded his arms across his chest. "That is, if you get to know him. Otherwise he might come off as rude."

"Oh..." she trailed off. Were all the nurses this chatty? Or was he the only friendly one?

"So what brings you here today?" He smiled lopsidedly.

"Oh, um. My leg-I ran into-well, actually I-" She sighed heavily. "Um, can I start over?" she asked, embarrassed. A small laugh escaped his lips, and he nodded.

"I gashed my leg on a locker." She said, lifting her up her leg for him to see. His eyes widened slightly at the unnerving sight, and he motioned with his hand for her to sit down on the large chair in the center of the room. Claire complied, and he pulled himself up a stool, and bent over to take a good, long look at it.

The gash itself didn't look too bad anymore, but with the line of dried blood that ran along the rest of her leg, the sight was pretty horrific.

"Ah, I wish you would've said something sooner. I could've dropped what I was doing, it wasn't all that important." He said, examining the wound.

Claire leaned back in her chair, trying her best to relax, and stared up at the tiled ceiling.

"Ow, how bad does it hurt?" He asked, eyebrows raised in concern. Claire contemplated lying to him, but thought better against it. Besides, he was a nurse, _he_ would understand her condition. If he was ever to find out. It wasn't like she was telling the entire student body.

"You know, the funny thing is," Claire said, lifting herself up in a sitting position. "I can't feel a thing," She shook her head, half-smiling. The nurse tilted his head sideways, brows knit together in thought, and smiling at her lopsidedly.

"You can't feel it?" He questioned, disbelievingly.

"Nope." She confirmed, shrugging. He glanced down at her leg again, then back up at her, doubt evident on his face.

"That's a pretty deep gash," He said matter-of-factly. "If you can't feel that, you can't feel anything." he shook his head smiling.

Claire's eyes locked with his.

"I can't."

His smile suddenly faded, and he looked at her quizzically.

"What?" He asked, shocked. She sighed lightly.

"I can't feel anything. Haven't been able to for a while now," She rolled her eyes. "My doctor said it's a rare condition that causes an insensitivity to pain. So I literally can't feel anything." The nurse stared back at her, stunned, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Huh." He said, brows knit. "That's something I haven't heard before."

"You won't tell anyone, right?" She practically blurted.

"Not if you don't want me to," he put a hand on her shoulder. "Why? What's the big deal?" She turned her head away from him in shame.

"I..." Her voice got caught in her throat and tears began building up in her eyes. "I don't want to be considered a _freak_..." She said, barely audible. His brows lifted and his eyes were filled with pity.

"Hey," He said, trying to get her attention. "You're not a freak, okay?" She looked him in the eyes to confirm his sincerity.

"You're _special_." He finished, giving her a small smile.

Claire however, wasn't too happy with his answer.

She didn't want to be 'special' she wanted to be _normal_. And she couldn't even be that! This wasn't something about herself she could just _change_ to fit in with the rest of the crowd, this was something she had absolutely no power over whatsoever.

Nothing she could _do_ would make her feel again. It wasn't as simple as changing her clothes or changing her hair, it was something in her nerves or her brain. And there was nothing she, or anyone else could do to fix it.

"I don't want to be special..." She leaned her head on his shoulder, and cried. "I want to be normal!" Not knowing what else to do, he awkwardly put his arms around her, and gave her a reassuring pat on the back.

"Hey, it'll be fine." He said.

After about a few minutes, Claire recovered from her emotional outburst, and the nurse proceeded to fixing up her leg.

He got out several cotton balls, disinfectant, a Q-tip, some salve and fresh bandages, and got to work.

He dabbed some disinfectant on a few cotton balls, and cleaned up most of the dried blood. Then he blobbed some slave on the Q-tip, and put a little on the wounded area. Last, he covered the wound in fresh bandages, and sent her on her way.

Claire supposed going to the nurse's office wasn't _all_ that bad, she did get the needed medical attention she deserved, and the nurse wasn't so bad himself. Actually, he seemed pretty cool. And as far as she knew, her secret was perfectly safe with him.

It didn't go half as bad as she'd expected.

Claire was nearing shutting the office's door behind her, when a thought suddenly hit her. She opened the door just a crack, and peered inside to get one last glance at the nurse.

"Hey," She said, a smile playing on her lips. " I didn't catch your name." He looked back her, paperwork in hand, and smiled lopsidedly.

"Peter." He replied.

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**A/N I apologize for the slow update, but when you're working on more than five stories at a time, chances are some stories will be updated later than others. I didn't really have time to correct any spelling errors, so if you spot any be sure to tell me!  
**

**The next chapter will be more about Claire and Zach, so be sure not to miss it.**

**UPDATE: I was thinking about turning this story into a one-shot instead, are there any objections?**

**Please let me know in a review or PM.**


	4. Walking Home

**A/N Surprised? So am I!**

**Thank you so much my Faithful Readers, for _still_ following this story. It means a lot to me. :')**

**It might be a bit shorter than planned, but I think you will enjoy it all the same.**

**So here we go!**

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own Heroes.**

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Claire bounded out the school's front entrance, relieved to have survived yet another long, grueling school day to which would be one of many, due to the fact that it was the middle of September, and school had practically only just begun.

She sighed softly to herself, dodging the abundant sea of students that descended the cement steps leading from the school building to the parking lot.

She supposed the day wasn't _all_ that bad. Actually, other than a slight gash on the leg, a brief moment of total embarrassment, and a quick trip to the Nurse's Office, things went pretty smoothly.

And perhaps, in the form of the school's male nurse, Peter, she had made a new friend. Someone who could accept her differences, and make her feel a little better about her insecurities.

Or at least someone who was kind and understanding enough to listen to her most deep, and inner problems.

And it was nice to know that at least one person in school didn't think she was a total freak. And for the time being, her secret was safe with him. And it felt pretty good being able to share a little bit about herself with someone who was truly sympathetic.

Claire absentmindedly thought to herself how different the day would've turned out had she not been sent to the Nurse's Office at all.

Had she not been teased and pushed into a locker before first period.

Ugh, she'd definitely have to pay back Brody Mitchum later, though. She wasn't about to let some jock like him get away with bullying her. One of these days, he would get what was coming to him.

Claire just hoped that Zach didn't catch any heat from the principal. If anyone deserved being punished, it wasn't him. Zach would never do anything to hurt anyone. At least, not intentionally.

Speaking of which, she hadn't really seen him _at all_ the rest of the school day. Not in the halls, not the cafeteria...and now she was starting to wonder if-

Claire's thoughts were momentarily interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice calling to her from the distance.

"Hey, Claire! Wait up!"

_Oh, great_, she thought to herself.

_What did he want now?_

Annoyed, Claire reluctantly stopped in her tracks, and turned briskly on her heel.

To face none other than: Zach Penski.

He stared at her a while, as if surprised she'd even stopped to listen to him at all, and put a nervous hand on his neck, as if he, himself, was unsure of what he wanted to say.

Claire looked at him expectantly, eyebrows raised.

"I...uh..I just wanted to say sorry," He started lamely. "You know, for what happened earlier today?"

Claire folded her arms across her chest, a ghost of a smirk playing on her lips.

"Really?" She feigned surprise. "Because, it's not like you've already said it before." She said sarcastically.

"I...I know I said it before...I just..." His eyes shifted to the ground as he fumbled over his own words. "I felt like it needed to be said...Again?" He shrugged.

"Ookay..." Claire blinked rapidly, baffled at his lame attempt at starting a conversation, and wanting nothing more to do with it.

Claire knew that he wanted to chat, to strike up a conversation. And as much as she wanted to believe that they would be able to get along, and perhaps even make good friends, she knew there was no point in giving herself false hopes.

They had already been friends once before, in middle school, and_ that_ didn't really play out too well.

They used to be so 'chatty'.

So _close._

Laughing over childish things, and exchanging deep secrets.

Then she hurt him.

_No._

_Betrayed_ him even.

Ditched him for the 'it crowd'. The cheerleaders, the popular kids.

And she knew deep within her heart that their relationship wouldn't have ended half as badly as it did, had it not been for her blocking him out of her life _completely_, as apposed to being exclusive to school.

Claire shook her head, wanting nothing more than to wave away and forget her and Zach's past friendship.

While in present time, Zach looked up at her with hopeful eyes, obviously expecting her to get the conversation rolling.

She knew what would best for the both of them, would be to stop it before anything started, so she tried to make it short.

"Apology accepted," She assured him, adjusting her bag on her shoulder and preparing herself to bolt.

"Bye." She blurted, side-stepping him.

Zach however, was a_ bit_ more determined to talk to her than she had previously thought, and quickly side-stepped her, blocking her quick exit.

So she side-stepped him again.

And he side-stepped her again.

So she side-stepped him.

So he side-stepped her.

So-

_Ugh! _

She couldn't take any more of this!

After about two minutes of getting absolutely nowhere, Claire threw her hands up in defeat.

"Okay! What?" She practically yelled.

"What is it? What do you want?" She asked, exasperated.

Zach gave her a hurt, apologetic look. Instantly melting whatever anger and frustration had managed to build up in her in that short amount of time, and caused her to quickly regret her actions.

"I just wanted to talk, that's all." He said quietly, trying his best to maintain her eye-contact despite the fact that she clearly wanted nothing to do with him.

Claire sighed.

"That's_ all_?" She asked suspiciously, still not quite fond with the idea of letting down a bit of the armor that shielded her fragile heart.

He nodded.

"That's_ all_."

"Ok." She agreed, accepting defeat.

This was going to be a longer day than she thought.

* * *

Their conversations consisted mostly of small-talk. Little questions here and there, a few short answers in response.

She hadn't expected (or planned) on talking long, but before she knew it half an hour had passed, all the other students loitering around the school building had long since left, and she decided it was about time for her to be heading home.

So, without further ado, she abruptly ended their oh-so-interesting-conversation, about 'memory cards' and 'video cameras', and began making her way past the sidewalk, and down the street. Fully expecting him to take the hint that all of their 'conversations' were one-sided.

Only for him to somehow construe her sudden leaving as an invitation to walk to her home.

He had offered to give her a ride home on his bicycle, but she politely declined, telling him she'd be much better off to getting a good walk in (although truthfully; she didn't want anyone to catch her on the back of Zach Penski's bike). So he had settled on_ pushing_ his bike instead of_ riding_ it, while trying desperately to keep up with her quickening pace as he attempted to re-engage her in a conversation she had previously gotten out of.

"Yeah, so there's this memory card you can get that holds up to, like, a thousand pictures, and four hours of video!" He said enthusiastically, though Claire wasn't even in the least bit interested.

"I was hoping my Uncle would get me one for my birthday this weekend, but I figured he'd probably-"

"What?" Claire interrupted suddenly, stopping in her tracks, and quickly whipping her head around to face him.

Zach abruptly stopped as well, tightly gripping his bike's handles to prevent it from coasting any further, and exchanged a confused, yet curious look with her.

"Uh...I said I was hoping that my Uncle would get me that-"

"NO!" Claire cut him off, waving a hand back and forth dismissively.

"About_ your birthday_. You said you were having one this weekend?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?" He asked, genuinely curious.

Of all the time that had passed since they used to be close friends, Claire never once thought that she'd forget her former friends' birthday. Granted, it was none of her business to remember and celebrate now, but it still stunned her that over time, an occasion that was as precious and special as it was for them when celebrated in each others' company, was so easily forgotten over time.

"N-nevermind..."

She shook her head, allowing him to continue as she proceeded to feign interest in his current conversational topic.

* * *

After a while of (what was to Claire) pointless babbling, they had finally managed to make their way to Claire's destined location; her home.

They both stood awkwardly on the sidewalk, either staring at the concrete, or fiddling with their fingers, each expecting the other to break the silence.

"Look," Claire began, "It was nice of you to walk me home, but you really didn't have to."

Zach abruptly tore his eyes away from the side-walk and raised them to meet her gaze, a small smile adorning his face.

"It was no big deal, really." He blushed modestly. "I can walk you home tomorrow if you want."

Claire shook her head.

"No. Zach," She sighed. "I don't want you to walk me home tomorrow."

"Maybe the day after?" He inquired, still holding her gaze.

"No."

"The next day?"

"_No_." She said firmly.

"Look, Zach. Why are you even talking to me?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, hurt evident on his face.

"_I mean_, why are you talking to me? We're not _'friends_'. I've neither_ done_, nor_ said_ anything nice to you in all this time, and yet you're still here by my side. _Why_?"

Zach's hurt expression quickly morphed into one of determination.

"We were friends once, _remember_?" He asked firmly.

"Zach, that was years ago..." She sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Doesn't matter. We were friends_ then_, why can't we be friends_ now_?"

"Because I _hurt_ you!" She exclaimed, throwing a hand in the air.

He stared at her a few moments, momentarily speechless, but stood his ground nonetheless.

"Yeah, Claire...you did." He shrugged.

"Doesn't that _bother you?" _She questioned disbelievingly. "_I left you_, Zach._ I left you_ for the squad. And as far as I was concerned, you left me too..." A single tear ran down her cheek at the bitter memory. "and it was for the best really..."

Zach felt as if his heart was being torn in two at the sight of the sad, helpless Claire Bennet before him.

"I didn't leave you, Claire." He said reassuringly.

"What?" She sniffled, wiping the tear off her cheek with the back of her sleeve.

"I_ didn't_ leave you." He repeated, taking a small step closer to her.

"What do you mean?" She questioned, eyeing him suspiciously.

"_I mean_," He quickly continued. "_every day_ after you joined the squad, I left you notes in your locker. Every day you ignored me, or pushed me away, I didn't let it bother me. _Every day_ I saw you leaving from school with your new friends, or hanging out at the mall, or dating some jock, I didn't let it get to me. And you know why?"

"Why?" She sniffled lightly.

"Because I remembered, Claire." He said, a small smile spreading across his face.

_"Remembered what?"_

"The promise you made me, in_ sixth grade_. You remember it too?"

Claire's eyes widened a considerable amount, and her breath caught in her throat.

It couldn't be, could it?

_"What?"_ She breathed, exasperated.

"Zach, we were_ kids_!" She exclaimed, taking a step back.

Although her actions were causing him to hurt far more than her words, he still tried desperately to appear unfazed.

"So you_ do_ remember, then?"

"Yes! But-"

"_'But_' nothing. _The point is,_ you_ remember,_ Claire._ You remember_ what we said at the back of the old school building. About always sticking together, about sticking up for each other, about if one of us happened to lose their way, we would always-"

She held a hand up to silence him.

"Zach," She pleaded . "Stop it."

"What?" He stared at her, heart cracking at the mere thought of him not being able to get through to her.

"_You heard me_," She said more firmly. "_just stop_. Whatever we said back then, Zach. Whatever _we 'promised'_, whatever_ I_ promised, Zach. It means _nothing_ now. Because now, it's too late. Maybe that promise meant something then, but now, right_ here in this moment_, it means nothing."

Zach narrowed his eyes, finally seeing through her facade.

"_I know_ what you're trying to do." He said, gripping tighter on his bike's handle-bars.

"Oh, _yeah_?" She challenged. "_What?_"

"I know what you're doing, Claire. You're pushing me away again. And it's not for popularity, or some new circle of fake friends, it's _something else_. Something's going on right now-"

"No, you don't know what you're talking about..."

"Something's hurting you inside, Claire. I know it!"

"No!"

"Yes! I know there's something, just tell me what's going on! Tell me what's wrong. You can talk to me!" He pleaded, scanning her sad eyes with his own.

"No..." She sniffled. "No, I can't Zach. I'm sorry. I really am, I-I have to go..."

She quickly brushed past his shoulder and made her way inside, making sure to lock the door as she closed it behind her, hoping he wouldn't make an attempt to try and come in, or be desperate enough to try knocking.

To Claire's liking, there was no chance of that happening.

Zach stood awkwardly on the sidewalk, waiting, and hoping for Claire to have a change of heart, and come bursting out through the front door to make her way over to him and apologize.

But she never did.

After about ten minutes of standing his ground, Zach decided to give her some well-needed space and just call it a day.

He jabbed his bike's kickstand with his foot, swung a leg over the seat, and reluctantly began pedaling away from her house. Looking over his shoulder every now and then to confirm that she still hadn't changed her mind, he continued on his own way home.

Even if she would never keep her end of their child-hood promise,_ he would_.

And that much he would make sure of.


	5. Caving

**Author's Note: My apologies for the late update. Thank you so much for your patience. Feedback is welcome.**

**I Don't Own Heroes.**

* * *

Several days had passed since Claire's falling out with Zach, and despite his great efforts to try and befriend her, or at least earn some sort of acknowledgment from the reclusive teen, the girl just wouldn't give him the time of day.

Every time he'd catch her in the school hallways, he'd wave.

But she'd never wave back.

Wouldn't even glance his way, either.

He'd call her over to sit at his table during lunch breaks, and she'd sink in her chair at the designated Cheerleader's table, her head low, fork playing with uneaten food.

He'd tried taking a seat down beside her when the rest of the cheerleader posse wasn't around, and she'd pick up her food tray and stalk off somewhere else.

He'd left a few notes in her locker telling her to meet him at the flag pole after school, and she'd toss them before she'd even read them.

And although every lack of acknowledgment, every _dis_ hurt, he knew that whatever Claire was going through, whatever was causing her to act the way she was acting, was hurting her far more than she'd ever admit.

Because every time she held back a wave, every time she ignored him when he called to her in the cafeteria, every time she threw one of his notes away, he could _see_ it.

He could _see_ how much it _hurt_ her.

How much it ate her up inside.

And he knew that he had to get to the bottom of her problems.

_And fast._

Before anything else happened.

Before she not only ignored _him_, but ignored her squad members as well, and stopped going to school completely.

He knew that if things ever went that far, that he might not be able to get her back.

And that, he couldn't live with.

Even if it never bothered _her_ like it did him.

Despite the fact that she never led on to how she was feeling, or what she was dealing with, he knew that she desperately needed someone to talk to. _Now_ more than ever. And if that meant that he would have to endure sitting through an _entire_ pep rally, the bleachers filled with obnoxious adolescents, and the football field filled with yelling squeeky-voiced cheerleaders, then he would definitely do it.

Besides, what was the worst that could happen?

"Zach Penski?"The tall blonde cheer-captain mocked when she and her squad members had finished their cheering, and decided out of sheer _boredom_ to zone in on his spot in the lower bleachers, and encircle him.

_Dang, he totally jinxed it..._

"It's a surprise seeing you here. You know, since you hate pep rallies, and all?" She said, putting a cap on the bottle of water she had in her hands, and setting it down on the ground.

"I'm not particularly fond of them, no." Zach admitted, leaning back on the bleacher's bench.

"So then what brings you out here today?" The peppy cheerleader smirked, twirling her blonde ponytail with her finger.

"I'm actually waiting for someone," He said, eyes flickering over to Claire, who had uncharacteristically shied to the back of the group.

"I was hoping she'd spot me, come over, and want to talk or something. I don't know, though. It doesn't look like she's too interested in doing that now..."

The cheer-captain's eyes followed Zach's gaze, and shifted over to where Claire was standing.

She scoffed aloud.

"You mean _Claire_?" She asked. "Are you _serious_? Aren't you the same loser who's been stalking her these past few days?"

Zach's face flushed, he knew he was being kind of adament about getting her attention, but being called out as a stalker was absolutely humiliating.

"I _wasn't_ stalking her," He defended himself. "I was just trying to get her attention."

"How pathetic," She said, curling her upper lip in disgust.

"I thought she looked like she needed someone to talk to..." He said quietly.

"_Someone to talk to?_" She echoed. "She has _us_." She gestured to herself and the rest of the squad. "_We're_ her friends now, okay? _Not_ you. Have been since the 6th grade."

"Well I'm her friend too," Zach said, getting up off the bench and standing to his full height despite his lack of confidence. "Have been since _kindergarten_."

"Aww, that's so cute," The cheerleader mocked, squeezing his cheek like an annoying aunt would her nephew. "The nerd thinks she's still his friend!"

Having bit her tongue for far too long on the matter of seeing one of her squad members verbally bashing her, well..._friend?_ Dare she say? Claire clenched her fists in anger, and prepared to fire back a comment of her own.

Although it was a little late for her to be getting involved (especially since she was the real element in avoiding Zach altogether), she just couldn't sit back and let this happen to him.

"Stop it, Becky." She said through clenched teeth.

"What?" The cheer-captain questioned, whipping her head around to face her fellow squad member.

"You heard me," She nodded. "Stop it."

"You can't be serious, right? I mean, look at him, he's a total loser! Why would you want to hang out with a nerd like him?"

"Well, maybe he's not a total loser, okay? Maybe I _want_ to hang out with him because that makes a heck of a lot more sense than me wasting my time with a stuck up princess like you!" She bit out, taking a few steps in her direction.

The other girl's face morphed into that of pure hatred.

"Take that back!" She hissed.

"No." Claire said firmly.

"Take it back now, or you're off the squad!"

"Then you know what?" Claire half laughed, tilting her head sideways to look at her. "Forget it. I don't even want to be on the stupid squad if it means I have to be bossed around by a brat like you!"

Zach's eyes all but popped out of his head at her last sentence, along with all the other cheerleaders in their midst.

"What?" He and Becky said in confused unison.

"Come on Zach, let's go!" Claire said, grabbing hold of his hand and pulling him along with her.

"Wha-hey!" Zach protested before realizing his resistance was futile.

* * *

They'd walked their way far out of the quad and beyond school grounds before deciding to ditch school altogether. Both had been silent for the duration of the walk, and it wasn't until they had reached the back roads that Zach had decided to speak up.

"Are you sure you should've done that?" He asked as they passed a thick tree along a dirt road.

"What - huh?" She asked, finally turning her head in his direction, blue eyes meeting his.

"That!" Zach stated, gesturing his hand back on the path they'd walked. "Are you sure you should've humiliated her like that in front of all the squad? I mean, you didn't-"

"I'm sorry." She interrupted him, lowering her head.

"What?"

"I'm sorry for ignoring you these past few days...I shouldn't done that."

"No, it's...okay." He said lightly, gently tugging on her sleeve to get her to come to a stop. "I mean, I understand and everything." He shrugged.

"No." She sighed. "That's just it, you _don't_ understand. And I...I _want_ to tell you. I _want_ to make you understand...But everything's just been so hard for me recently. It feels like...my whole world is falling apart, and I can't-"

"Claire..." He said quietly, putting hand on her shoulder to comfort her, only to have her shrug it off immediately.

"No!" She protested, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. "I can't - I just...I can't-"

"No. Shh...come here." He said quietly, pulling her close to him and wrapping his arms around her. "Whatever you're going through you're going to be alright, okay? I'll help you get through this. It's the least I can do after what you did for me."

Zach held her in his arms for a while.

When she finally stopped crying, she pulled away from him, and they continued on their walk home.

Neither of them talked.

Zach, because he didn't want to pry, and Claire, because she wasn't quite ready to open up to him yet.

Wasn't quite sure if she could trust him like she did all those years ago.

Or if he'd even want to hear her sob story.

But little did she know, she could've rambled on for hours and he would've listened.

No matter how great her problems, he would've done his best to try and help her sort them out. Because that's how much he cared for her.

That was what friends were for.

They stopped walking when they'd finally reached her house's door step.

Claire opened the door slowly, and Zach half expected her to run inside and slam the door behind her like she'd done the last time he'd walked her home.

But, much to his relief, she didn't.

Instead she lingered.

She kept one foot in the doorway, and one foot out.

"Claire," He started hesitantly. "I know you don't really want me around that much, but if you ever need someone to talk to, or you're willing to give this another chance then..."

"Yeah," She said, a small smile gracing her tear-stained face. "I'd like that."

"Okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school then?" He inquired, testing the waters.

She nodded.

Good. So they had made progress.

"Can you pick me up?" She asked.

Zach's eyes lit up and he smiled broadly.

"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah, tomorrow."

And she slowly closed the door behind herself.

Leaving him outside to think their relationship over.


End file.
